{"id":750,"date":"2019-04-10T15:50:35","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T15:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/ie\/?p=750"},"modified":"2019-04-11T15:04:37","modified_gmt":"2019-04-11T15:04:37","slug":"for-years-experts-slept-on-the-importance-of-a-good-nights-kip-when-it-comes-to-athletic-performance-but-were-now-wide-awake-to-how-vital-shut-eye-can-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/ie\/2019\/04\/10\/for-years-experts-slept-on-the-importance-of-a-good-nights-kip-when-it-comes-to-athletic-performance-but-were-now-wide-awake-to-how-vital-shut-eye-can-be\/","title":{"rendered":"For years, experts slept on the importance of a good night\u2019s kip when it comes to athletic performance \u2013 but we\u2019re now wide awake to how vital shut-eye can be.."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Humans need sleep; that\u2019s a fact. Just like food and oxygen, the body can\u2019t function without it \u2013 and just like food and oxygen, it\u2019s particularly important for those concerned with athletic performance. With no sleep you\u2019ll have no energy, and no chance of being at your best when you need to be. Furthermore, not getting enough sleep will leave you struggling to recover properly from your training sessions \u2013 and forget Mont Ventoux, that\u2019s what we call a vicious cycle!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The good old adage of &#8221;eight hours a night&#8221; can seem like a pipe dream for anyone juggling work, training and everyday life \u2013 but just a few simple steps could vastly increase the amount of Z\u2019s you could catch! And if you think that\u2019s surprising in itself, just wait until you see the difference it makes to your mood, hunger, energy levels and overall wellbeing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">From the obvious to the obscure, here are a few small changes that could make a big difference:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong>Monitor your caffeine intake:<\/strong><\/span> You might not notice how those cups of coffee throughout the day add up, but it could be the reason you&#8217;re not sleeping well at night. One of the biggest culprits when it comes to disturbed sleep patterns, caffeine isn\u2019t just about mugs of joe, but also teas and fizzy drinks. Try reducing your caffeine intake by limiting yourself to one morning fix, then switching to decaf. If at all possible, avoid caffeine entirely after 4pm; the half-life of caffeine means that it can stay in your system for up to <em>eight hours<\/em>. So yeah, find a new way around that afternoon slump\u2026<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong>Reduce your screen time:<\/strong><\/span> We&#8217;re surrounded by phones, computers, tablets and tellies; an endless stream of screens! And while you\u2019ve probably heard that screen use is linked to dodgy sleep, you might not understand why. Well, in short: light emitted from these screens affects ability to produce melatonin, a substance inextricably linked with your sleep\/wake cycle (circadian rhythm, if you want to get fancy about it!). Your boss won\u2019t be happy if you refuse to use your computer for the day, but there\u2019s ample opportunity to reduce come evening time; try moving away from screens at least an hour before bed and pick up a book instead.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong>Apps:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0If you&#8217;re struggling to switch off when the lights do, a number of apps specialising in meditation and calming techniques can help that journey to the land of nod. Calm might not have the most inventive name but is extremely popular, and even mindfulness focused offerings like Headspace are also proving a hit. And if an in-depth analysis of your in-bed time is more your thing, apps like Sleep Cycle will tell you more about the kind of sleep you&#8217;re getting every night.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong>Supplementation:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 A number of natural supplements known to assist sleep are available if the above just aren\u2019t doing the trick. ZMA (Zinc Magnesium Aspartate) is a popular supplement with athletes, readily available from any nutritional websites and health shops. Zinc is a known immune system booster, while magnesium also plays a role in metabolism and sleep management. Other natural sleep remedies include the classic drop of lavender on your pillow, as well as a number of teas; Valerian Root Extract is popular, while others find Camomile to be just the tonic.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 Humans need sleep; that\u2019s a fact. Just like food and oxygen, the body can\u2019t function without it \u2013 and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nutrition-training"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>For years, experts slept on the importance of a good night\u2019s kip when it comes to athletic performance \u2013 but we\u2019re now wide awake to how vital shut-eye can be.. - \u0160koda We Love Cycling - Ireland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/ie\/2019\/04\/10\/for-years-experts-slept-on-the-importance-of-a-good-nights-kip-when-it-comes-to-athletic-performance-but-were-now-wide-awake-to-how-vital-shut-eye-can-be\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For years, experts slept on the importance of a good night\u2019s kip when it comes to athletic performance \u2013 but we\u2019re now wide awake to how vital shut-eye can be..\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0 Humans need sleep; that\u2019s a fact. 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